


Sharp

by HazelGatoya



Series: My Constant State of Pitying Alphonse [6]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Because I have angry boys, Did someone call for angry boys, Dynastic duo makes for a fun relationship, Ephraim does not like this strange Lyon, Especially with that other Lyon, Gen, Hinting at canon, Lyon would like to do his work, lots of frustration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:48:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23523313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelGatoya/pseuds/HazelGatoya
Summary: Ephraim wants answers from an older version of his friend. They are not easy to get when he won't say things in a straight fashion and only hints at the answers.
Series: My Constant State of Pitying Alphonse [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667644
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Sharp

"You ever heard of knocking, Youngblood?"

Ephraim scowled at Raigh, who scowled right back, an expression that was far too fierce for such a... a kid. Edelgard was also glaring at him, Hubert was eyeing him coolly and Julius's face was half hidden behind multiple papers, but he was staring too. "I need to talk to Lyon."

"Prince Ephraim, we are in the middle of something-" Edelgard began, her tone rather sharp.

"Oh, I can _see_ that," Ephraim snapped. Like it wasn't clear with the huge... whatever he could see the lower half of Lyon's body sticking out from under. Large and cylindrical and definitely _weird._ "You lot are always in the middle of something, though, or at least he is."

"Our teacher is a busy man, Youngblood." Hubert's voice was quiet, his arms crossed. "Something your other half understands."

"Where is he, anyways?" Julius piped up, lowering his papers. "You two are never separate."

Ephraim ground his teeth together. Julius was the only one not glaring or ignoring him, so he'd... try to quell his frustration, at least. "Look, just because we're a duo hero doesn't mean we have to be together all of the time. He's talking with the Lovebirds."

"I'd think you'd be interested in meeting the other duo hero as well." Hubert's frown grew just a bit deeper. 

"I have plenty of time for that, but I have no idea when Lyon here is actually in the castle or what he's doing half the time," Ephraim huffed.

"I mean, you could always ask Kiran and not interrupt what we're doing," Raigh remarked.

"Look here-"

There was a deep, heavy sigh that he recognized, and he immediately fell silent, physically biting down on his tongue. "Velthomers, go spend the morning with the Emperor."

"Prince Lyon!" Edelgard whirled on the- _whatever that was_ \- and Ephraim blinked at how upset she sounded. Julius bit his lip. "We've been working at this for a week..."

"I know." Lyon slid out from under the huge cylinder, sitting up. His hair was all tied back out of his face and he was wearing gloves along with that strange clothing that wasn't quite Askran but it was closer to Askran than any other region. His hair was all tied and pinned back, putting his slightly sharper, thinner face in full view. As well as that more closed-off expression that Lyon should never have. Ephraim clenched his fists behind his back as his old friend turned that slightly dead gaze to him briefly, then looked back at Edelgard. "But Ephraim is nothing if not stubborn, so we'll get nothing done today. With that in mind, it's likely best to take today off."

Edelgard pressed her lips together, then Hubert placed a hand on her arm. "Lady Edelgard, we have time," the dark-haired mage reminded her. "If we allow them to talk it out now, we can pick this up again tomorrow. We have been working on it for five days now."

"...This is true." Edelgard slowly exhaled. "Come on, then, Julius."

The two brushed past Ephraim, and he stepped to the side as the redhead scampered after them, waving to Lyon as he left. Raigh clicked his tongue once they were all out the door, raising a hand. "Guess I'm hanging out with Chad and my brother and explaining to them and Kiran why we don't have the notes on the javelin today. Don't kill each other."

"Wh-" Ephraim stared at the kid as he began walking out. "We won't."

"That would be inconvenient for everyone," Lyon's flat voice agreed. "I'll come by the office later today to also explain, Raigh."

"Good," Raigh replied simply, firmly closing the door to the workshop behind him so that it was just the two princes in the room.

Ephraim turned back to Lyon, who carefully rose from his sitting position, slowly and methodically beginning to take out all of the ties to his hair. "Very well, Youngblood. What is bothering you so much that you had to inconvenience everyone?"

Ephraim took another breath, doing his best not to bristle at the cool, unaffected tone that he was using. "Ephraim, Lyon. We're alone, you can call me by my actual name." Lyon arched an eyebrow, his lilac hair completely free and hanging around his face now, hiding the sharpness of it. "As for what's _bothering_ me, no one will tell me what happened to you."

"What _happened_ to me..." Lyon repeated, the question behind the words clear as he stared at Ephraim with that still closed-off expression.

"That, that right there," Ephraim snapped. "My Lyon would have said the question straight out. You've changed, you're colder, more like the nobles that drive me up the wall. So what happened to you? I understand that you're older, but that doesn't excuse the way you're acting."

"Is my behavior truly so abhorrent to you?" Something like curiosity entered the other prince's tone as he walked over to a desk, opening a drawer and placing all of his hair ties inside. "People do change with time." 

"Yes, but with the way you talk to the other Ephraims and Eirikas, it's pretty obvious that you aren't the Lyon I know." Ephraim crossed his arms. "It's like you're not even friends with them anymore. You spend a lot more time with your group-"

"I'm supposed to," Lyon interrupted, his tone the cool one once again, not even turning around as he closed the drawer. "If you haven't noticed, Kiran has their uses for me. I don't have much time to speak to others unless it is either on business or they are on my team."

"Yeah well you don't have the interest to either. I know you've always been duty bound but-"

"I am still Lyon, Ephraim."

"Then why does Lyon revere _you_ but not himself when he's so much _better?_ "

There was silence for a moment, and then Lyon turned around just slightly, his hair hiding his eyes with the angle his head was at. "For all of your love of being straightforward, it took you quite some time to get to the point there," he remarked, tone dry.

Ephraim swallowed. It didn't get rid of the bad taste in his mouth. He hated fighting with this stranger who wore his best friend's face, who spoke with his voice and resembled him in so many ways and yet was so _different_ and _cold_ to him and his multiple sisters in Askr. It still felt like fighting with _Lyon._ But while this man was supposed to be him, he was also so _important_ to Kiran in ways that he and his real best friend were not. "I didn't know how to say want I wanted to," he managed after a minute of silence. "He's holding you up on a pedestal you don't deserve."

"And what do you want me to do about that?" Lyon questioned, turning around fully, that curiosity back in his tone along with a hint of bitterness. "I've told him several times that he needs to give himself more credit."

All of the frustration drained from Ephraim as he stared at the older prince. "I... you have?"

"I'm not your enemy." Lyon actually rolled his eyes. "I don't want him turning out the way I have and neither does anyone else. As far as all of us are concerned, you two don't need to know what happened to me, because it shouldn't happen with you two."

Ephraim continued to stare at the other man as he put that circlet Lyon always wore on, carefully weaving his hair out of his eyes. Suddenly feeling incredibly foolish, which only increased the bad taste in his mouth. He looked away- maybe that would help with his emotions. "I'm... I'm sorry. I just want to know. It's frustrating, and I know that Lyon wants to know how you grew so powerful within a mere year."

"As I have told him multiple times, he does not want to have all of the power I do." Frustration bled into the tone and Ephraim looked up to see Lyon glaring at his gloved hand. "He can gain all I have and more if he stays by yours and Eirika's side and if you stay by his." He looked up, meeting Ephraim's eyes. "Remain friends, take care of each other, lead the world into a true reign of peace. And somehow get it into that foolish boy's head that the future is absolutely not set in stone."

Ephraim bristled. "Calling him foolish is uncalled for. You're not that much older."

"We're both fools," Lyon replied, tone flat now. "And I have the blessing of hindsight. Now. Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"You haven't told me-"

"We were separated for a year, that's what _happened,_ " the other prince interrupted sharply, and Ephraim flinched at the sudden feeling of _other_ in the air. "Me in Grado and you two in Renais. Make sure that doesn't happen, and what _else_ happened doesn't _matter._ Now, is that all you wanted to talk about?"

Ephraim took another breath, but he saw the warning for what it was now. Lyon's expression hadn't changed much from simple irritation, but it was the repeated question that was beginning to scare him, along with the fact that there was no light in those violet eyes. "I guess... it is," he replied, backing off towards the door. "I... why would we leave you alone, though, for so long?"

Lyon continued to stare at him, then turned around, walking deeper into the workshop. "What is it that your friend keeps telling you about ruling together?"

"It's not possible?" Ephraim frowned. "It should be."

"And it will be." Lyon opened the door that was further back into the room. "It's your job to convince him of that. You're his friend. I'm just the sum of the mistakes he'll make without your support."

The door closed, leaving Ephraim with more questions than answers, but also the sudden knowledge that there was in fact no way that he would get anything else from this man by being demanding and making even more of a fool of himself. He retreated from the workshop, shoulders hunched with the terrible knowledge that he had just wasted everyone's time today.

Later, when he worked up the courage and actually managed to make himself more coherent, he'd ask again... but today was not that day.


End file.
